You may have seen in the news over the last few months that the government is planning on making changes to the SEND system (often referred to as ‘national SEND reforms’). There have been lots of rumours and guesswork about what the changes might be, but so far there is no definite information; proposals are expected from the government later this year.
In the meantime, we have written to all Sussex MPs urging them to attend an event hosted by the Disabled Children’s Partnership and Let Us Learn Too on Monday 15th September, which is taking place after the national rally in Parliament Square, and before the Westminster Hall debate.
You can read our full letter below, which was written jointly with SEND charity Amaze and our Brighton forum counterparts PaCC.
Letter to MPs
We wanted to get in touch to make you aware of the upcoming parliamentary drop-in from the Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP) and Let Us Learn Too.
As your local SEND charity, working closely with two parent carer forums representing Brighton & Hove and East Sussex, we would like to encourage you to attend to listen to the views of the SEND community. The drop-in takes place on:
When: 15th September 2025
Where: Committee Room 18, Houses of Parliament,
Time: 15:00 – 16:00
Hosted by: Jen Craft MP for ThurrockAs one of our MPs, we hope you will attend the event for a chance to speak with SEND campaigners, parents and charities about Fight For Ordinary, and the broader SEND landscape.
This drop-in will take place ahead of the Westminster Hall debate about e-petition 711021 on SEND support, taking place at 4.30pm. A briefing for the debate will be available.
The Schools White Paper is due this autumn, so standing up for SEND families in Sussex is more important than ever. We hope you’ll take time to meet with the DCP and parent campaigners from Let Us Learn Too. We would also welcome a meeting with you to highlight some of the issues families face locally.
The event will follow a rally for SEND parents in Parliament Square from 11.30-13.30, please also join the rally if you are able too.
To RSVP for the event, you simply need to head to: https://secure.mencap.org.uk/en-gb/rsvp-disabled-childrens-partnership-let-us-learn-too-parliamentary-event-0
We hope it is useful to highlight the statutory role of parent carer forums nationally. The SEND Reforms of 2014 set out that local authorities and health partners must work with parent carer forums and young people to improve services in their area. Please find more information on our websites https://paccbrighton.org.uk or https://www.espcf.org.uk or contact us to find out more.
Kind regards,
Holly Riley-Saxby
Chair, ESPCFBecky Robinson and Fiona England
Co-chairs, PaCCSally Polanski
Chief Executive, Amaze